St. Vincent plays Cambridge

Ryan Wood

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 27, 2008 at 7:32 AM

Annie Clark knew her music reached a wide range of individuals, but she was completely taken aback after learning that a 12-year-old became upset because he couldn’t attend her upcoming Cambridge show. She had no idea she had fans so young.

Annie Clark knew her music reached a wide range of individuals, but she was completely taken aback after learning that a 12-year-old became upset because he couldn’t attend her upcoming Cambridge show. She had no idea she had fans so young.

“That’s great,” said Clark, who performs under the moniker St. Vincent. “When I think back to when I was 12 years old, I was fully consumed with music.”

The anonymous Boston-area 12-year-old posted in response to the announcement regarding of St. Vincent’s mini, late-winter/early spring tour. The tour dates, and the 12-year-old’s response was posted on St. Vincent’s website – www.ilovestvincent.com.

The young fan said, “I’m only 12, so I’ll have to wait 6 years before I can see you. You must play an all ages show soon.” On March 1, St. Vincent will perform at the Middle East (downstairs) in Cambridge, and unfortunately, this 12-year-old will have to wait. The St. Vincent show is an 18-plus gig.

“I’m really, really looking forward to it. It always helps to go out on tour when you’ve had a little bit of time to sort of prepare and make sure you’re doing new things,” Clark said from her Park Slope, Brooklyn apartment. “That’s what keeps me musically engaged with my material. So I’ve had time to do that, and I feel really good, and I’m excited about playing the songs.”

It actually shouldn’t come as a surprise to Clark that people as young as 12 appreciate her music. As a teenager growing up deep in the heart of Texas, Clark started to appreciate music, specifically American jazz composers, harpists and pianists, as well as classic rock icons Jimi Hendrix and The Who when kids her age listened to Alanis Morissette, Ricky Martin, Celine Dion, and yes, even Madonna.

“I have older siblings, so Madonna was all the rage,” Clark said “At first you sort of emulate your older siblings’ taste because you’re the youngest and that’s what the youngest does. But, eventually, you kind of figure out what you’re into as well.”

She hung out with friends who also had older siblings who were into other types of music.

“It’s cool having friends who have older brother and sisters, and that’s how I found out about Sonic Youth, Dead Milkmen, the punk stuff,” said Clark, who added that her musical tastes continued to evolve as she grew older. “I listened to tapes and CDs. I spent hours alone in my room just geeking out. I have a pretty eclectic taste. I loved Steely Dan. There, again, your average 12-year-old doesn’t probably know all the words to “Babylon Sisters,” but some 12-year-olds do. That was the wild side of me, listening to Steely Dan.”

The music Clark listened to as a teenager influenced her to that point that she wanted to become a musician. Today she listens to the jazz fusion of Robert Wyatt, American jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby, and Alice Coltrane (wife of John Coltrane and a pianist, organist, composer), “stuff that’s more on the side of, you know, just a little bit out there, a little bit experimental,” Clark said.

Clark started taking music seriously at a young age.

“I took guitar lessons when I was about 12 until about 15 or 16, but that’s really it,” she said. “I just spent the rest of the time playing and writing and all that. I took some vocal lessons when I was 18 or so. But I did what a lot of young musicians do, emulating who you admire.”

Emitting a delicate voice, both live and on disc, 25-year-old Clark has fallen into the cinematic pop genre (although she sort of despises categorization of any kind). She plays a wide arrangement of instruments, carrying her sound with grace.

On her Beggars Banquet debut, Marry Me, Clark comes across as a new breed of early 20th century musicians. She slightly echoes singer/songwriters from the 1920s and 30s. Yet, she remains humble about the brilliance that defines her album.

“I played guitar, played a crappy piano, and then random things, clavietta, stuff like that,” Clark said. “When I made the CD, it was really pure from the standpoint of, I knew I wanted people to hear it. I wasn’t making it just for myself, but I had no idea who would hear it or how they would hear it. I was like, I want to make the music and put everything I’ve got into it. So to have people hear it and really enjoy, it is just totally gratifying, just the best thing you could want.”

With heavy airplay on satellite radio and having her video for “Jesus Saves I Spend” on MTV2, interest in St. Vincent continues to build. The notion of her music affecting so many different types of people in such a positive way sort of stuns Clark.

“It’s really flattering and really exciting and also kind of unbelievable,“ Clark said. “The record came out in July and the response is really overwhelming. I really didn’t have any expectations for the record, so it kind of exceeded all of the expectations that I didn’t have.”

Clark, who kicked off her tour Feb. 25 at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh before hitting off-the-beaten path locations such as the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, said she can’t wait to see how her crowds react, especially right here in Boston.

“I’m excited to see the people who like the music,” Clark said. “I have played the Middle East upstairs three or four times this year. I am constantly surprised by the diversity of the audience, which is really exciting. It’s been neat to me, as an artist, that I have made something that is appealing to a lot of different people on a lot of different levels.”

What Clark doesn’t expect is a set group of individuals to come to her shows. She said her fans are quite diverse.

“You never really can predict is what I’ve come to know,” Clark said. “There are definitely kids and college kids. There’s kind of a hipstery vibe, and then there’s people who like NPR (National Public Radio). I hate to classify fans because everyone’s their own individual person. But I’m always surprised at the variety.”

As far as touring this spring, including a stop at the epic Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif., April 26, Clark said she is bursting-at-the-seems ecstatic.

“I’m like the kid this year who somebody said, ‘Oh, you like birthday cake?’ ‘Yeah, I love birthday cake.’ ‘Cool, you’re eating birthday cake every day for a year.’ That’s a terrible metaphor, but I like (touring),” Clark said. “I find that when I’m off tour, my body goes through withdrawal.”

For those attending Boston’s March 1 show, they can expect to see Clark at her best, this time with some extra musicians so she doesn’t have to do everything by herself.

“I did a lot of solo touring this year. I sort of joked that I was a professional opening act,” Clark said. “I did a lot of technology on stage. I rigged up something so when I stomped my foot it could be my kick drum, then a drum sampler, and another sampler that I cued with my foot and a whole rack of guitar effects pedals, which was really more for my sake in terms of, ‘Oh I’ll give myself one more challenge every tour.’ Hopefully the show benefited from it.”

Clark said she thoroughly enjoys touring, but pointed out that it’s not the easiest part of the music industry.

“Any musician who says they love creepy hotel rooms in the bad part of town is probably lying to you,” Clark said. “But what they do love and what I love is performing and playing and interacting with people, and that makes it all worth it.

And who knows, maybe that 12-year-old will one day get the chance to see St. Vincent, be it when he/she turns 18, or, Clark said, maybe even March 1 in Boston.

“It’s really gratifying and exciting that there’s a 12-year-old who wants to come to the show. That’s awesome,” Clark said. “I hope he gets in.”

Ryan Wood is a freelance writer who has contributed to The Sun (London), The Weekly Dig, The Noise, and Earlash. You can reach him at rwood76@gmail.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.